


Bitter Pill

by Liza1031



Series: Harringrove One-Shots [19]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Childbirth, Homebirth transfer to hospital, Husbands, Love, M/M, Marriage, Mpreg, Parents, Pregnancy, Pregnant Joe Keery, Stranger Things RPF - Freeform, hard labor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27650516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza1031/pseuds/Liza1031
Summary: Joe and Dacre plan to have an unmedicated homebirth, but when certain issues arise, their plans may backfire.
Relationships: Dacre Montgomery/Joe Keery
Series: Harringrove One-Shots [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987054
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Bitter Pill

**Author's Note:**

> So I chose to switch the character from my 'Amherst Incident' one-shot and instead used Dacre and Joe for this one. It's the same exact one shot only different characters. I really wanted to see what you thought about it and if you'd like it. Please read and let me know in the comments if I should do more Dacre/Joe as like surprise pop-ups or no. 
> 
> Thank you.

His hands pressed into the small of his aching back as another painful wave shuttered through his tensed body. The contractions were becoming much stronger and a lot harder to deal with. He started to breathe through each wave and use low moaning sounds to keep himself from freaking out, but Joe has been doing this since eight o’clock that morning and it was nearly twelve hours later, still no baby. 

He groaned feeling another wave of pain flare up in his body. Reaching over for his husband, Dacre lets Joe lean on him so he can ride the wave out and get through the contraction. He knew his husband was so vulnerable at this point and needed relief, so if Dacre was the only way for it, then he’ll be with him through it all. 

With a low groan, Joe tiredly sighs while resting his head on his husband’s shoulder. “I don’t understand why this is taking so long.” His voice slightly trembled. “It hurts, Dac.” 

“I know sweetheart. Just think every contraction you have, imagine her moving down more and getting closer to meeting us.” Dacre says to his husband and frowns hearing another moan come out. “She’ll be here soon, B. Our sweet little Peyton, with her mummy’s hair and her daddy’s blue eyes. She’s gonna be beautiful.”

“You’re still so sure she’s a girl?” Joe asks and Dacre chuckles. 

“Well I mean we’ve been calling the baby Peyton and have been referencing her as a girl. Why do you think she’s a boy?” 

“Well I don’t know. Whatever we get, I’ll be happy either way.” 

Dacre smiles at his husband’s comment but that quickly fades away when Joe releases a low groan from deep in his throat. “Breathe through it baby. I know it hurts but you have to breathe.” 

“I know.” He whimpers and squeezes behind Dacre’s neck where his hands connected. “She’s just moving so much, it’s making me very sore.” 

“I’m so sorry, baby. Do you want me to rub your belly again?” 

“Hmmm, no.” Joe shakes his head as the two continue to sway their bodies. Their movements were slow and constant which helped Joe focus on the rhythm as it worked with the pain. When the contraction ended, he felt Dacre slow down but instantly spoke up, “Keep going, it’s helping.” 

Dacre listened to his husband as they stayed in each other’s arms, moving back and forth, much like how they shared their first dance at their wedding. A rather magical and unforgettable night for the pair. He’d never seen his husband so happy before that day. It was a day that holds a very special place in their hearts. 

So, they stayed standing in the middle of their living room embraced each other while Joe breathed and moved during his contractions. At one point, his legs started to give out from the heavyweight he was bearing and he was just about hanging off Dacre. He eventually moved down into a deep squat and rolled his hips while holding onto the couch. Dacre moved behind him and pushed his fists into Joe’s back, massaging circles around the sore skin. 

“Does this feel any better, baby?” 

“A little.” Joe exhales and pushes his forehead against the arm of the couch. “Oh god.” He moans, rolling his head back. 

“Breathe honey.” Dacre says while still massaging his back. “Nice deep breaths.” 

Joe listens to his husband and breathes like he’s supposed to but the pain is just so intense, he cries out in anguish nearly falling back into Dacre’s arms. 

Dacre holds his husband in this awkward squatting position for the duration of the contraction then helps him relax on the couch. 

“I think I’m gonna call Bonnie and see what she thinks we should do? You don’t feel close to pushing do you?” 

“No.” 

“Okay, so let me go do that. I’ll be right back, alright?” Dacre nods watching his husband walk away from him. 

Joe puffs out his cheeks as he blows out his spent breath and leans his body back against the cushion. He brings his hand up to his belly and rubs the taut skin. A small smile forms on his face feeling the movements of his daughter just underneath his palm. His whole pregnancy has been spent wondering what his baby’s gonna look like, whether she’s a boy or girl, who she’s gonna look like most, who will she love the most. They both know someone is bound to be her favorite between the two. Joe’s hoping it’s him since well, he’s giving her life, but she just may as well be a daddy’s girl and become a badass like him.

While looking down at his distended belly, he can hear the tail end of Dacre’s conversation with the midwife. 

“....Alright. Great, thank you….Yeah, bye.” 

Dacre comes walking back into the living room with a smile on his face from whatever information he just recieved. 

“Okay, so, Bonnie recommends you try to rest and get into the tub. She doesn’t want you to be drowsy during labor so at least the hot water will hopefully stimulate some pain relief and if not then give her another call and we’ll go from there.” 

“Alright so, I guess we should head to the bathroom then?” 

Dacre nods and helps Joe off the couch. He leads his husband to their bedroom then into the bathroom. 

“I’ll get it ready for you, love.” He says and presses a kiss to Joe’s lips before going to start the faucet. Joe watches Dacre find the perfect temp for the water then leaves it to run while he gathers towels from their linen closet. 

Once the tub was filled enough, Dacre helped his laboring lover undress then get into the water. Joe felt an instant relief as soon as the hot water touched his skin, it was like heaven for him. He smiled, thanking his husband, while laying back against the tub and closing his eyes. 

He spent nearly two hours in the tub and tried to rest in between his contractions. It helped a bit but he started to get overheated so they pulled the drain plug and he got out. 

Joe just stayed bare in front of his husband because it was too hot and uncomfortable to have clothes on. He dried off enough so that he could lay on their bed and try to get more rest in between the contractions. 

The surges were painful but he had his savior, Dacre. 

He laid beside his husband on the bed and let Joe do whatever he needed to do while using Dacre, whether it be pushing against him, letting Dacre touch him, or whatever. Just something that allowed Joe to feel his husband was helping him immensely. 

By 2:30am, he felt like things were picking up and their midwife came to the house around 4am. Within that hour and a half of waiting, Joe got out of bed and found relief again standing with his husband. So they stayed next to the bed while they waited for her. 

She had helped Dacre get Joe situated on the bed in order for her to check his dilation. As much as he hated it, he knew they needed to find out where he was at. 

When she inserted her fingers, he winced and held his breath waiting to hear how far he'd progressed. Hoping he was at least five or six centimeters, he looked down and saw a frown form on Bonnie’s face. 

“What is it? What’s wrong?” 

“Well I’m afraid you’re only at two centimeters but you’re ninety percent effaced, which is good.” 

Joe was disappointed, more than he ever felt before in his life. He should’ve been so much further along at this point, what was taking his baby girl so long.

“Why don’t we get things moving and walk around for a bit, see if that helps? Have you had anything to eat or drink?” She asks and Joe shakes his head, still upset he wasn’t progressing much. 

“Okay, so how about I make you a protein shake just to get something into your system then we’ll walk around and see where that gets us.” 

Looks like Bonnie wanted to kick this into high gear so she left the two and disappeared downstairs to their kitchen to make Joe his shake. 

When it was just the two of them, Joe looked up at his husband with tears in his eyes and disappointment in his heart. 

“Oh, baby,” Dacre is quick to help his partner and sits next to him on the bed, wiping the tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “I know you expected to be a lot farther along but sometimes it takes a while. You’ve been doing a fantastic job though so don’t lose hope. We’re in this together, remember?” 

Joe nods and sniffles, leaning into Dacre’s side. 

Dacre turned his neck and pressed a kiss to Joe’s head, in between his soft curls. He too was upset that Joe hadn’t progressed more than they anticipated. But he couldn’t show his fear in front of his husband. It’s his job to stay strong for Joe. 

Bonnie returned with the shake for Joe so he drank some of it then they got him up so he could walk around the house, hoping things start happening soon. 

**-9:25AM-**

Joe was now in the shower sitting on the birth ball. Dacre held the water sprayer over his belly as the shower head sprayed water onto his back. 

This was how he wanted to be and no one stood in his way to stop him so he did it. 

When the contraction hit he held onto the bar and would lean on it, squeezing as tight as he possibly can, turning his knuckles white. 

It had been like this for at least an hour. Sitting on the ball and gripping the bar each time a contraction came. It was painful and he needed some sort of relief even though it wasn’t constantly there. 

He spent another forty minutes in the shower with Dacre holding the sprayer over his belly, but he had enough of being in the water so he reached over and turned it off, looking towards his midwife.

“You want to get out?” She asks. 

“Please.” 

“Of course.” 

She smiles and nods, moving from the counter watching Dacre pull Joe off the ball. Bonnie takes care of that and hands them a few towels to dry off. Joe leans over the bathroom counter and inwardly groans, gripping onto it tightly while Bonnie presses her hands into his hips, moving them towards in back in a constant motion. 

He hummed with delight from the counter pressure on his back and rocked his hips while his midwife did what she could to help him. 

Dacre went to change into some dry clothes and returned back to the bathroom to be with his husband. He came in just as Joe was finishing his contraction and sadly smiled. He wished there was more he could do for him but there wasn’t. They just needed to be patient. 

“You’re doing great, hun. Do you mind if I check you again and see where you’re at now?” 

“O-Okay.” He whimpers and his body starts to shake. His tired eyes search for Dacre and when he spots him standing in the doorway, he reaches his arm out for him and Dacre grabs onto it. Joe holds onto his husband as they slowly walk back into the bedroom and Joe props himself up onto the bed. 

“Alright, let’s see where we’re at here.” She puts on her glove and gently spreads Joe’s legs apart. “Relax for me, hun, okay? It’ll only be just a minute.” As she checked him, he held onto Dacre’s hands but kept his eyes closed, pressing his lips together, trying to focus on his deep breathing techniques. “You’re at about a five, Joe.” 

“A five? Shit.” He lets his breath go and opens his eyes, staring up at his husband. “Why is this taking so long, Dacre?” 

“I don’t know, sweetheart.” Dacre didn’t know what to say really. He was getting worried that it was taking this long. He didn’t want his husband to strain himself just from the labor and not have any energy during the delivery. 

Joe was starting to feel totally overwhelmed and felt like giving up. He couldn’t believe he was only halfway there. 

It took everything in him to focus on getting through each contraction one at a time. He knew he needed rest so he decided to lay down. While it was nice to get a tiny bit of sleep in between contractions, he would wake up in the middle of them, at the worst part too, and they were much harder to deal with while laying down.

By 11:15, his contractions were four minutes apart lasting two minutes each. As he lay in bed, helpless and hopeless, he was getting tired and weaker with each hour that passed. 

“Dacre, I can’t do this. I need a break.” 

“Yes you can, baby. You were meant for this. Our little girl is depending on you.” Dacre says, brushing Joe’s bangs out of his face. 

“No, I can’t. It hurts too much and I’m not progressing fast enough.” What Joe really wanted was an epidural and he quietly considered it. 

At 2pm he was checked again and was still at five centimeters. That was the moment when he felt completely defeated. He had not progressed in five hours and he felt like there was no light at the end of this tunnel.

“Bonnie I need something to work towards, some kind of hope. Please.” He starts to whimper feeling Dacre squeeze his hand. “Please, just something to make this all go away. Please.” He pleads as big fat tears fall down his cheeks, coating his face. He’s not sure what he wanted her to say to him, but he was desperate.

“Okay,” She sighs and sits on the bed, just next to his thigh and grabs his free hand in her, rubbing the back side of it with her palm. “The only other option is going to the hospital and getting an epidural so you could get some sleep. You need your rest so you can have energy for later. I think if your body can rest, then your labor may progress a lot more.” He continued to quietly cry as she explained to him what she felt was best. “I know this is going against your birth plan, but honey, I’ll feel better if you get some rest then we can hopefully get the show on the road and meet your beautiful baby girl. So do you trust me with this?” She asks. 

He looks at Dacre, who was crying as well. He nods down at him so Joe looks back at Bonnie and nods his head, “Yes.” 

They decided to take her advice and were admitted to the hospital at 3:30pm. Joe and Dacre were crying the entire way there. It was emotional and scary but it’s what he needed at the time. He had pretty much mentally given up at this point. Once the decision was made to get pain medication, it’s like he couldn’t handle the pain for another minute.

Joe laid on the hospital bed, still squeezing Dacre’s hand while they wanted for his epidural to come. He was on his right side with Dacre behind him, running his other hand down his legs. He kept shivering from the pain and the shock it was doing to his body. 

He waited two hours for the anesthesiologist to come and once he did, Joe felt somewhat better that he was going to get his pain relief. 

A few nurses as well as Dacre helped him sit up and face the other way so they could administer the needle into his spine. 

He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Dacre, groaning to himself as the doctor prepped his back with iodine.

“When I tell you I want you to take a deep breath in then blow it out slowly, okay?” 

He nods and feels Dacre place a bunch of kisses on the top of his head. 

“Alright, deep breath in,” Joe inhales through his nose and holds it. “And blow it out slowly, good job.” 

When the small tube was in, they taped it in place then laid him back down on the bed. The doctor and nurses left the room and it was just the two of them. 

Joe glanced up at Dacre and felt bad for having to do this. 

“Are you mad at me, Dac?” He asks and clears his throat. 

“No. What makes you think I’m mad at you, sweetheart?” 

“Because we’re here.” He motioned to the room around them. “I know we were gonna have this whole home birth but I-I’m sorry I just couldn’t handle the pain.” 

“Babe, it’s okay. I’m not mad at you at all. I’m actually glad we’re here because now you can get some much needed rest before our little girl gets here. She’s already being a diva and taking her sweet time to get here.” He smiles and runs his fingers through Joe’s hair. “Honey, you’re giving me a baby, you’re giving us a baby, making us parents. I could never be mad at you for needing a break every now and then.” 

“God, I love you.” Joe smiles at Dacre feeling like he was on cloud nine as the epidural starts to kick in.

“I love you too. I always have and I always will.” He leans down and presses a kiss to Joe’s lips then makes himself comfortable in the chair next to Joe’s bed. 

Now it was just a waiting game until they got to meet their baby. 

At some point, a nurse came in with another doctor and Bonnie, waking Joe from his sleep. 

“We’re gonna start you on some Pitocin and break you water so we can get things moving along okay, Joe?” 

“Okay.” 

They got his Pitocin going then Bonnie sat at the end of his bed ready to break his water. 

“I’m gonna be using this amnio hook, Joe.” She says holding up the small plastic device. “I’ll be breaking your water and you’re gonna feel wet down there for a bit but hopefully we won’t be waiting much longer.” She adds. 

So she breaks his water and they end up finding meconium in it which worries him. But thankfully, Bonnie explained to him that they’ll just have to monitor the baby closely when she comes out.

As they got closer to meeting their baby, the contractions were getting really strong. They were so strong that he got sick even though he couldn’t feel them. They watched the monitor and rested when they could and basically just waited until it was time to push.

**-2:17AM-**

Bonnie had come into the room and was eager to check Joe’s progress, hoping he was close to the end. She put on some gloves and lifted his blanket past his knees. 

“Let’s see here,” She inserts her fingers into his entrance and instantly smiles at him. “You’re ten centimeters, hun. We can start pushing.” 

“Thank god.” He smiled up at the ceiling and felt Dacre squeeze his hand. 

“This is it, baby. We’re finally gonna meet our little girl or boy” He beamed, ready to become a daddy. 

Bonnie called in a few nurses to come in but while they were setting up the stuff for the baby, she sat at the end of his bed and looked up at the machine. As soon as she saw the contraction start, her eyes went right to Steve.

“Let’s take a big breath in Joe and push right into your bottom. Nice and hard!” 

He inhaled and held his breath while pushing down. 

“Good, good, good. Let it out and again. Big breath in and push….Go, go, go. Keep going, hun. Good, and let’s get one more push in with this contraction.” 

He pushed for the fourth time and let go of his breath as Bonnie smiled up at him. 

“I can see the baby's head. A few more pushes like that and we should have ourselves a baby.” 

“She’s coming, thank god.” He whimpers and is struck with another contraction. He pushes down starting to feel her head move down and make its way out. 

“Nice job, hun. Another deep breath in and let’s push down hard. C’mon.” 

The more he pushed the more he could feel her coming and it was beginning the burn. 

“Push, Joe. Push. Push. Push. Harder, harder, harder.” He lets go of his breath with a loud groan and lays back against the bed. 

“The head is right here, Joe. They’re this close to crowning then the head will be out, okay? Hardest part is almost over.” She says and waits for another contraction. 

He tilts his head down, taking deep breaths while waiting for the pain to come back. When he feels it and starts to get back into position, he let go of Dacre's hand and decided to pull his legs back by gripping behind his thighs. 

“Alright here we go. Big push! Get this head out!” 

He squeezed his muscles and pushed, hissing as the burning intensified. A mere scream comes out but he gives into the pain and releases it. 

“You need to push. Your baby’s head is almost out. Push into the pain. Let’s go….push, push, push. That’s it! That’s it! Good. Head is out.” He loudly exhales and retracts back onto the pillows. “Take some nice deep breaths now hun, nice deep breaths while I check for a cord.” 

“Deep breaths baby, deep breaths, Joey. You’re doing so good, honey. I’m so proud of you.” He places his hand over Joe’s forehead and smiles at his husband, amazed at how beautiful and dedicated he is while bringing their child into the world. 

“Ow, I have to push...Please, I ca-”

“Don’t push, hun! Cord is around the neck so I need you to pant for me but don’t push!” 

He tried to quicken his breathing with the pants but he needed to push and the urges were becoming unbearable. 

“Keep panting just like that. I almost...got it! There, okay now give me a gentle push for the shoulders. Small push, Joe.” 

“Small push baby. You can do it.”

When the contraction came, he loosely held onto his legs as he pushed. 

“Ah, ah, oh god.” He moans, scrunching his face together in discomfort.”

“Shoulders are turning. Okay now give me a big push.”

With all the energy he had left, Joe pulled his legs back and pushed. He felt the baby’s shoulders pop out with some fluids and gave another big push, screaming as his baby entered the world with a gush of fluids. 

Dacre looked down and his eyes widened, “It’s a girl!” He says proudly while tearing up.

“Here she is, Joe! Congratulations.” Bonnie held the baby in her hands and started to suction out her nose and mouth. “She’s looking good.”

“Aww honey,” Dacre starts to sob staring at his daughter then at his husband. “You did it Joey! You did it! She’s here! We have a daughter!”

His chest heaving, he heard the blissful sound of his baby girl crying and it brought him such joy. He smiled at Dacre and they shared a kiss.

She was here and perfect. 

When they finally laid her on Joe’s chest, it was the most perfect moment of his life. He rubbed her tiny back and everything else faded away. 

All the pain and hard work he did to get her here was worth it and now here she is, staring up at her mommy with the most loving blue eyes he’s ever seen. She was perfect and she was finally here. 

Peyton Elise Montgomery-Keery was born at 2:55am. She weighed seven pounds, twelve ounces, and was twenty one inches long. 

No matter how much emotional, mental, and spiritual preparation he had for this moment he had no idea what to expect. It was magical. He and Dacre had certainly gone on a journey together and emerged with this beautiful new life that was part of both of them. He didn’t know how to put the feeling in words, but it was absolutely incredible. 

Her hair was thick and dark, and her eyes a dark blue. Dacre got to go out to the waiting room and tell everyone that they have a girl, leaving Joe behind with the baby. 

After such a long labor and a huge change in their birth “plan,” Joe struggled to accept that they couldn’t follow through with their birth plan and felt like he’d given up, however, if it wasn’t for this beautiful little girl he just brought into his life he’d probably be feel guilty for all the decisions he made to get through it. 

**-Two Years Later-**

Dacre and Joe were in the backyard with their daughter Peyton. Joe was sitting criss-cross on a blanket with his pregnant belly resting in his lap while their daughter was picking flowers around them. 

Dacre’s eyes were mostly caught on the baby bump that sat in Joe’s lap. He was currently six months pregnant with a baby boy and all three of them were thrilled to have another baby on the way, especially Peyton since she was getting a baby brother. 

“Momma wook!” Peyton tottles over to Joe and holds the small daisy out to him. Joe’s face lights up. “Is piddy.” She says in her tiny voice while twirling the flower in between her fingers. 

“It is pretty baby. Just like you.” He says, smiling at her. 

“Hewe momma.” She uses her small fingers to tuck the flower on top of his ear, making him look even more beautiful to his husband. “Now yous piddy momma.” 

“Aww, thank you baby.” He kisses her cheek then she runs off to go collect more flowers. 

Dacre warmly smiles to himself watching his girl continue to explore nature in their backyard. He joined his family in the middle of the yard and laid on his side while their daughter came between them holding all the other flowers she picked. 

“Hewe daddy.” She now has a small bouquet of daisies and dandelions, giving them to her father. 

“Thank you, P.” He smiles and tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear. 

Peyton smiles at her father and that right there was what gave Dacre goosebumps. Never did he ever think that he’d be married to the man of his dreams with a beautiful daughter and a son on the way. He wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world because these three beings were his life. 

He pushes himself up and plants a kiss onto Joe’s lip. It was a slow and heated kiss, but it was special. When he pulls away from his husband, Joe quirks an eyebrow, expressing his confusion. 

“Where did that come from?” He asks, and wipes his palms against his jeans, eyes his husband. 

“Just because.”

“Oh well then.” Joe’s smile broadens as does Dacre’s. 

Peyton comes over and gives Joe more flowers which he gladly takes then Dacre reaches out and pulls her into his arms causing her to giggle. 

“Daddy! S’op!” 

“No!” He tickles all over her body and her laughs were music to both her parents’ ears.

“Daddy!” She kept on giggling and trying to get out of his grip but he kept going. “Daddy! S’op!” 

“Never! The tickle monster’s already got you!” He says in between gritted teeth. He smothers her face in small kisses as the family of three laugh and have a good time together. 


End file.
